1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a beverage cooling apparatus wherein a cold plate is used to cool liquid beverages. The cold plate can be combined with an ice dispenser, to provide a dual purpose of cooling beverages and providing ice. In the food and beverage service industries, it is desirable to provide cold drinkable beverages and ice in an efficient manner. The present invention is directed to a system wherein beverages can be pre-cooled through a cold plate such that beverages can be served at a cooled temperature. Many major beverage manufacturers have recommended serving temperatures for their beverages, and recommend that resellers of the product serve the beverages within specific ranges. Additionally, carbonated beverages are known to hold their carbonation much longer when the beverage is served cold. In fountain type beverage systems, where carbonated beverages are served from a bulk source, the beverages must be cooled in the beverage lines to prevent excessive foaming. Additionally, ice added to pre-cooled beverage in a drinking cup does not melt excessively, thereby preventing undesirable dilution of the beverage. The present invention is directed to a beverage cooling apparatus which cools liquid beverages, such that the quality of the served beverage is as high as possible. The invention is intended to meet major beverage manufacturers requirements for serving temperature and serving quality.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of systems have been known wherein ice is placed on a cold plate to cool a liquid beverage. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,359, which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a cold plate system wherein ice in a hopper is transported through a conduit to an ice pan, to cool beverages flowing therethrough. The '359 patent teaches the use of an agitator in a hopper to agitate ice in the hopper. However, the '359 patent does not address problems caused by the known "bridging effect" which is where ice particles sit on top of the cold plate or other surface, and bridge together through melting. This bridging effect prevents fresh ice from being placed directly in contact with the cold plate, and reduces the efficiency of the thermal transfer between ice and beverage in the cold plate.
An additional problem which exists in the '359 patent is that the '359 patent does not teach any type of system wherein the ice is guided and/or moved toward the inlet side of the beverage line, to maximize the effect of the thermal transfer.
U.S. Pat. No. 752,810 discloses a water cooler wherein two ice blocks are manually placed upon cooling pipes 8 to cool water fed from an elevated water bottle. However, the '810 patent is a fully manual system, and does not teach any system wherein ice is automatically fed or forced to the cooling pipe from a separate hopper, to effectively and continuously cool beverage being fed therethrough.